I'm Cultural

Multi-Cultural

I have always been able to tell you that I am part Omaha, Mexican, Polish and Italian. It might have been easy, since all my grandparents are full-blooded. But it still seems odd to me that some people can’t tell you about their ancestors, or even where they came from.

Recently, I have started watching Who Do You Think You Are?, where celebrities do their genealogy. Some of them are basically movies. Like, Sara Jessica Parker found out one of her ancestors went to California for the Gold Rush, and that another ancestor goes back to Mayflower and was accused as a witch in the Salem Witch Trials. Luckily for her, the court was dissolved before she was found guilty (because who wasn’t found guilty). I smell a movie plot. But it was REAL.

Her husband Matthew Broderick also found out he had ancestors in WWI and the Civil War, where the teaser was that doing his family history led to an answer that a historian needed an answer to. I thought, if his ancestor is in the tomb of the unknown soldier I will say this is all lies! It ended up being the burial plot for the civil war soldier.

Oh, and they travel everywhere. I don’t think it is necessary to travel to different places just to find documents, but it makes it more interesting TV. In any case, people were able to go to Poland, France, Africa, and all over America. If I were on this show, I would need to go to Europe too. And I have ancestors in WWII, I’m sure I’d need to go to other places in Europe too to see those battle sites. Sign me up!

PS. This show is a big commercial for Ancestry.com. Know how biggest loser randomly brings up the need for zip lock bags in order to get skinny? This show constantly brings up Ancestry.com. It fits better, but I swear. One big interesting commercial

Amazing Mug

This past week I went to the dollar store. What to my wondering eyes appears, but a VERY large glass mug. It was beautiful. I had to buy it. Its totally practical. Do you ever sit down and drink, then run out?

I think so.

Do you ever wish you didn't have to make that extra trip to the fridge for more?

Probably!

This mug holds about 3 glasses worth of beverage. Hooray! And for those who think I'll gain weight by not using those extra calories walking to the fridge, all is right. The weight of it is also way heavier than the normal glass. Its like lifting weights just to drink. Exercise!

Brink of Death

The entire staff of the Courthouse got an email saying they are doing some construction on the roof, so really only the fourth floor is affected. So, this week as I have sat in my office I have heard things. Like, they are right above me. Which confirms the fact that I have the worst broom closet of an office. But, I can live with that. But on Friday, it sounded like things would drop on my head. Big things. Big beams. I had to leave early because I was afeared that the big crane they built outside my office would crash something through the ceiling.

It would mean I would be maimed or die. But, I was balancing maiming/death between the huge settlement.

THEN, later that night as I went out the light turned green. I even waited a second before I went. The guy going southbound with the red light, however, just barreled through. A second earlier and I would have been hit. I feel like the universe wants me dead.

And I think I'm more bugged with the fact that sometimes you hear stories about how the Holy Ghost told people to wait, or something stopped them before a semi came crashing down the street. I didn't get that. Sure, I didn't get hit, but still. . .

A Few Things From Court

1. I was in court almost the entire day without a break. We were in court from 8:30-4. It was nuts. AND we continued a preliminary hearing.

2. The murder case wont be heard at trial til the end of September! I'll miss it! I had to sit thru the WORST divorce case for 11 days. I tried to tell the judge he owed me the murder, but I guess nothing can be done now. Maybe our other murder will go this summer.

3. One of the transport officer's phones went off during the middle of a sentencing. The best part: the ringtone was some sort of cowboy shouting, "Heeeeeeeyaaaahhhh!"

4. Part of my job is telling the inmates to keep their trap shut. One latino man kept talking so I had to stare at him til he saw me (I don't actually go up to the inmates, that is what the transport officers are for) and then mouth to him, "no talking." I think he took it the wrong way, because he kept smiling and winking at me the rest of the very long day.

Debate

Princess v. Duchess

I had a very real conversation slash email debate today over a vital news story to all of us. The story being that rumor has it, Prince William will propose to and marry Kate Middleton by November. I know it has forever changed my life and world view.

7th grade: Fell in love with Prince William. Thought of ways I could go to London, randomly tour Buckingham Palace and meet said Prince. He'd fall in love with me and ta-dah! We're married. I saw no flaws in that plan.

8th grade: Crushed on Jared Leto, or more appropriately, Jordan Catalano from My So Called Life. Was too young and stupid to realize how stupid/high he was all the time.

Flash forward to a few months ago when I found out Rayanne Graff from My So Called Life married a Duke, lives in a castle and is now a Duchess.

The debate, would you rather be a Princess, or a Duchess?

Princess Pros:

Duh--you are a princess

Crown jewels

Money

You are a Princess

You marry a Prince

You live in a castle

You are a Princess

Princess Cons:

Everyone wants pictures of you, and brushing your teeth becomes front page news

All you want to do is dress like a Nazi for Halloween, and suddenly you're a national idiot.

What if your Prince starts to look like his father Prince Charles

You'll never sing so sweetly a bird lands on your finger like in the Disney movies

Speaking of movies, there are so many out there trying to fool us into thinking that Princesses have a hard life, so much so that we as a public want to say, "suck it up and quit complaining!" Its like JLo singing she's Jenny from the block, or JLo playing a poor working class woman--no one is buying it!

Duchess Pros:

You can still walk around naked in your castle with your title, money, and jewels without everyone staring at you (minus your 50 servants)

You still get invited to royal events without doing the planning or the cleaning up after a million royals (all of whom don't know how to pick up after themselves)

You can still marry a prince, or even a pauper without renouncing a throne

Duchess Cons:

Disney will never make a movie about you, although the one with Keira Knightly was pretty good too. (Don't mind the oppression of women back in the day.)

I don't know about you, but I think I'd prefer to be a Duchess. Well done Rayanne. Who needs a prince or any man when you have a crown, castle and jewels. Even so, let me know if the Duke has a single brother.